


chapter one

by ottermo



Series: As Prompted [43]
Category: Humans (TV)
Genre: Gen, bookshop au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-26 13:06:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13858377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ottermo/pseuds/ottermo
Summary: George is looking for the hardware store. Instead, he finds Mary.





	chapter one

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Week 2, Day 4 of the Humans 4-Week Challenge. The prompt was “Coffeeshop/Bookshop AU”

It had been a hardware store for as long as George could remember - a quaint little place that always smelled of sawdust and sold packets of nails, gardening trowels and extension leads by the dozen. He went in there on his way home from work, occasionally, fishing for spare parts for his side projects, because the shop always kept a big box of odds and ends, over in the corner. Or at least, it had done. Now all signs of the hardware store had disappeared, and instead there was a bookshop in its place. George looked up at the new frontage, frowning. Had he missed the ‘Closing Soon’ notice? How long had it actually been since he’d come here last? 

Well, his bus wasn’t due for a few minutes yet, because he’d timed his arrival at the hardware store to allow him a bit of browsing time before going to wait at the stop. Now that he was here, there didn’t seem much else to do except go inside, and pretend he’d known all along that there was a bookshop here now. George opened the door, and a little bell rang merrily to welcome him in.

There was a young woman at the counter, not far off George’s own age. She smiled as he entered. “Good afternoon.”

George nodded to her. “Afternoon.” 

He looked around the place, and had to admit that the new set-up was just as nice as the old - books now lined the shelves in place of tools, ancient bound volumes and smart new prints mingled in together. He found himself automatically seeking the science fiction section, and located a generous amount of Isaac Asimov. He smiled at the title of a Philip K. Dick novel on the shelf below: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

They’d been talking about a similar question at the lab today. Whether or not the residual head activity that looped while their synthetic people were on charge or in standby mode could be properly referred to as ‘dreaming’. David always advocated such things, wanting every aspect of their creations to reflect humans as closely as possible. Edwin had disagreed just to make a point, which was becoming a habit these days, and so, as so often happened, George had been stuck in the middle of the discussion. He didn’t really care if they called it looping or dreaming or tripping the light fantastic, at this point. Every time they dug up a new bone of contention, it increased George’s uneasy feeling that they were going too far with their ambitions. 

Or rather, David’s ambitions.

He realised he’d been holding the book for quite a while. He put it back on the shelf and wandered away from the science fiction section, though he wasn’t sure where to look instead. The girl at the counter smiled at him again - she was beautiful, he realised, her whole face lighting up to match the sparkle in her eyes. 

“Are you looking for anything in particular?” she asked.

“I– don’t think so,” he said, hesitantly. “I just came for a wander around. I didn’t know the place had changed hands.” 

“It was a bit of a rush deal,” she said. “This is my first full week. And I’m not sure if anyone who’s come in so far was actually looking for a bookshop, or if they’ve all just been curious about where Mr Hallett’s disappeared to.” 

This time her smile was self-deprecating, and George chuckled. “Well, I must admit I wasn’t looking for a bookshop either. But I’m not sure I’m disappointed to find one.” He raised his eyebrows in a challenge. “What would you recommend for me to read on the bus back home?” 

She considered. “Well, I’d need to know a bit more about you first. Your reading taste, your interests…” 

He went over to the counter. “We can at least start by swapping names. I’m George.” 

She shook his outstretched hand. “Hello, George. I’m Mary.” 

And just like that, they started chapter one.


End file.
